Torquay Fire

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DazzyWoo

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Anyone injured ? Did this happen in the inner harbour or the MDL marina. ? Other boats damaged. What were the rules/ regulations on re-fuelling. ? When my boat was berthed at Cobbs Quay i often saw boats being fuelled along side the marina pontoons. Strictly against the regulations. I would get straight onto Ch 80 and notify the marina office.
Years ago I had part time job at Poole Boat Park. Anyone caught re-fuelling in the DryStack ( bottom row ) was sent a strict warning letter to the effect that they would be thrown out if they did it again.
 
No one injured - thank goodness.
Just on pontoons outside inner harbour (I think) - not sure what the regs are there.
Yes - some poor bugger's boat caught up in it - see second link
 
beejay190 said:
Anyone injured ? Did this happen in the inner harbour or the MDL marina. ? Other boats damaged. What were the rules/ regulations on re-fuelling. ? When my boat was berthed at Cobbs Quay i often saw boats being fuelled along side the marina pontoons. Strictly against the regulations. I would get straight onto Ch 80 and notify the marina office.
Years ago I had part time job at Poole Boat Park. Anyone caught re-fuelling in the DryStack ( bottom row ) was sent a strict warning letter to the effect that they would be thrown out if they did it again.
Click to expand...

Are you also in Neighbourhood watch
 
The following is true:

I was in Torquay marina yesterday and walked past the small speed boat that was damaged in the fire it was moored to the visitor pontoon. Next to this boat was a medium sized boat being fuelled from cans and another person had stopped to ask the guy doing the fuelling what had happened to the boat. The thing was the guy asking had a cigarette alight and was sort of holding it over the fuel cans as he spoke to the refuelling guy. I stopped and told him what he was doing and he realised and walked away with his fag.
 
DazzyWoo said:
Just on pontoons outside inner harbour (I think) - not sure what the regs are there.
Click to expand...

I missed it all too.

I'm fairly sure that the harbor regs state no petrol refueling on any of the moorings or the visitors pontoons, boaters are supposed to use the licensed refueling station. Although it does happen regularly, many times not using a syphon or even a funnel!

Luckily nobody was hurt this time, I can see the harbor master tightening up on the regs now........
 
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Beyondhelp said:
Drop marina fuel prices to a sensible level and this problem (if indeed it was the problem as I've heard other stories) will disappear...
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I agree. I also heard it was caused by not using the bilge blowers before trying to start the engine
 
Apparently.....from the man at the scene.......refueling was involved, along with no bilge blowers being used, both boats uninsured, also £5k damage to pontoons.

But nobody hurt, which is the important thing.
 
sprocker said:
both boats uninsured, also £5k damage to pontoons.

.
Click to expand...

Sounds like smoking cigarettes is even more expensive than I thought.
This is the second fire involving a petrol boat , and connected with refuelling, that I have heard of this year. There have almost certainly been others .

As for not having insurance this also demonstrates the need for third party / public liability insurance as a minimum.
 
MartynG said:
Sounds like smoking cigarettes is even more expensive than I thought.
This is the second fire involving a petrol boat , and connected with refuelling, that I have heard of this year. There have almost certainly been others .

As for not having insurance this also demonstrates the need for third party / public liability insurance as a minimum.
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I make it the third.

The one at Burton Waters, this one in Torquay and then this one on the Thames:

http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co...y-yacht-explosion-leaves-man-in-hospital.html
 
Beyondhelp said:
Drop marina fuel prices to a sensible level and this problem (if indeed it was the problem as I've heard other stories) will disappear...
Click to expand...

Given the minuscule amounts of petrol sold compared to a road filling station (they must go weeks in the winter without selling a litre of petrol, and it'll be a few thousand litres in an occasional very good week in the summer), how do you propose this reduction is funded?

They either make a large profit on a small quantity, or they pack up and go home. There just isn't the throughput.
 
Bigplumbs said:
The following is true:

I was in Torquay marina yesterday and walked past the small speed boat that was damaged in the fire it was moored to the visitor pontoon. Next to this boat was a medium sized boat being fuelled from cans and another person had stopped to ask the guy doing the fuelling what had happened to the boat. The thing was the guy asking had a cigarette alight and was sort of holding it over the fuel cans as he spoke to the refuelling guy. I stopped and told him what he was doing and he realised and walked away with his fag.
Click to expand...

What's the problem? You need a naked light to set of petrol. A fag wont do it.
 
ari said:
Given the minuscule amounts of petrol sold compared to a road filling station (they must go weeks in the winter without selling a litre of petrol, and it'll be a few thousand litres in an occasional very good week in the summer), how do you propose this reduction is funded?

They either make a large profit on a small quantity, or they pack up and go home. There just isn't the throughput.
Click to expand...

Trying to be sensible, I don't know the exact costs of the overheads so I'm not able to sensibly answer, but there are a lot of petrol boats around Torbay, and if the prices there were sensible they would get a lot more business, bringing those costs down, even myself included (which would have been some 300+ litres last weekend)
 
Beyondhelp said:
Trying to be sensible, I don't know the exact costs of the overheads so I'm not able to sensibly answer, but there are a lot of petrol boats around Torbay, and if the prices there were sensible they would get a lot more business, bringing those costs down, even myself included (which would have been some 300+ litres last weekend)
Click to expand...

I agree people just see the significant price difference and dont go into the economics of why it is so and simply decide to go the can route.
 
Beyondhelp said:
Trying to be sensible, I don't know the exact costs of the overheads so I'm not able to sensibly answer, but there are a lot of petrol boats around Torbay, and if the prices there were sensible they would get a lot more business, bringing those costs down, even myself included (which would have been some 300+ litres last weekend)
Click to expand...

It's not just the overheads (which will be high for a waterside business), its the quantities. Yes you'd have had 300 litres on the sunny bank holiday last weekend. How much would you have had in October? November? December? January?

I totally understand your point, and it would be lovely if it were cheaper, but no matter how cheap you sell it (wiping out yet more profit with each penny reduction) a few speedboats in Torquay and Brixham Marina being used on sunny weekends in the summer is never going to compare with the endless 12 month round stream of cars brimming their tanks at the nearest Sainsburys unfortunately.
 
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